A few handfuls of photographs have become the starting point for historians at King Edward VI School to piece together the stories behind the 260 former pupils who died in the First World War.
The school’s foundation is hoping the public can help it piece together information about the people in the images they have traced as part of a memorial to those who died.
“It is a very exciting project and I hope that by putting a face to a name that the list of the fallen will become more meaningful for future generations,” says school foundation historian Alison Wheatley.
“I have managed to track down almost 100 images (our youngest casualty was Conrade Jacot, aged 17), but I would like to appeal to the Birmingham public to help fill the gaps.
“Many of our old boys volunteered for the City Battalions, the Birmingham Pals, so I am hoping that local families may have photographs in their family albums.”
At the time of the war there were five King Edward grammar schools in Birmingham (Camp Hill Boys, Camp Hill Girls, Aston, Five Ways and Handsworth) and two King Edward private schools (KES and King Edward’s High School for Girls).
